সহকারী অধ্যাপক
২৬ মার্চ, ২০২৩ ০৭:৫৬ অপরাহ্ণ
Canada, US amend decades-old pact after surge in irregular asylum seekers
Canada, US amend decades-old pact after
surge in irregular asylum seekers
Canada
and the United States on Friday changed a two-decade-old refugee agreement as
part of their attempts to reduce the record influx of asylum seekers entering
Canada via unofficial border crossings, reports Reuters.
The deal was the news highlight of US President
Joe Biden's first visit to Canada as president and could provide some relief to
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is under pressure from political
opponents to take action.
The Safe Third Country Agreement, signed in 2002
and which came into effect in 2004, originally meant asylum seekers crossing
into either Canada or the United States at formal border crossings were turned
back and told to apply for asylum in the first "safe" country they
arrived in.
Now it applies to the length of the 6,416-km
land border. Under the revised pact, anyone who crosses into either country
anywhere along the land border and who applies for asylum within 14 days will
be turned back.
It comes into effect at midnight on Saturday. A
Canadian government source not authorised to speak on the record said there
would be increased police patrols near select unofficial crossings but no major
assigning of enforcement resources yet.
"Both of our countries believe in fair and
safe, fair and orderly migration, refugee protection and border security. This
is why we will now apply the Safe Third Country Agreement
between official points of entry," Trudeau told
reporters.